Here are also reported latest
updates on cruise law news related to ashore and shipboard crimes still investigated by the police.
Among those could be arrests, filed lawsuits against the shipowner / cruise line company, charges and fines,
grievances, settled / withdrawn legal actions, lost cases, etc.

On April 22, 2013, a 27-year-old male crew was arrested when the ship docked in homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) Florida. The man (Huan Shen, of Chinese origin) was charged with grand theft. He was accused of stealing a total of USD 7900 cash from 2 other crew members (his cabinmates, also Chinese).

12 April 2013

Crew / Passenger Crimes

On April 12, 2013, a total of 55 passengers and 2 crew were robbed at gunpoint while on Celebrity Cruises sponsored shore excursion in Soufriere (St Lucia). No injuries were reported, although an alternative source mentioned a female passenger fell and broke her leg. The incident happened when the tour bus visited Soufriere’s Botanical Gardens.

(law news) On April 15, the local police arrested 1 of the 4 suspects. The man in a written statement confessed to the armed robbery and was charged.

23 November 2011

Crew / Passenger Crimes

On November 23, 2011, 2 passengers (a couple from Los Angeles CA) were arrested in Basseterre (St Kitts) and charged for drug possession. In the morning, the ship’s security staff searched their cabin and found marijuana.

The local drug police boarded the ship and started an investigation. They questioned the couple and took them into custody. The recovered drugs were tested positive for cannabis. In court, the couple pleaded guilty and were fined ~US$2,000 each. They were not allowed to embark the vessel, so flew back home on the next day on their own expenses.

17 November 2011

Crew / Passenger Deaths

On November 17, 2011, a 60-year-old female passenger died and her daughter (aged 34) was seriously injured on a Celebrity Cruises sponsored shore excursion in St Thomas USVI. The accident occurred at ~4:30 pm during a parasailing excursion (tandem riding), approx 1 ml / 2 km south of Water Island.

Pending the investigation’s outcome, the cruise company cancelled all parasailing excursions in Caribbean ports. The injured woman was hospitalized at Schneider Hospital. The ship was on 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from homeport Miami to Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Maarten.

September 2011

Cruise Illness / Norovirus Outbreaks

In September 2011, an UK news media reported Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) affected the ship’s 11-day Eastern Mediterranean voyage roundtrip from homeport Southampton England. All sick suffered from Noro virus symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea) and were quarantined to their cabins. After the passenger disembarkation at Ocean Terminal (Southampton), the liner and the cruise terminal were sanitized.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

20 May 2011

Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On May 20, 2011, a 31-year-old crew jumped overboard. The man (of Filipino origin) was reported missing approx 8 ml / 13 km north of call port Cherbourg France. CCTV camera captured him at 10:15 pm to climb over a railing and jump overboard. The conducted search failed to find the body.

The ship was in the English Channel, returning to homeport Southampton England from a 14-day Mediterranean roundtrip itinerary.

July 2010

Cruise Illness / Norovirus Outbreaks

On July 26, 2010, the ship reported a chickenpox (varicella) illness outbreak on day 2 of the July 10 Baltic Sea cruise from Southampton UK. Some of the sick passengers were disembarked in call port Warnemunde-Rostock (Germany).

April 2010

Other Incidents

In April 2010, after the volcano eruption in Iceland (Eyjafjallajökull volcano), flights to the UK were suspended, leaving nearly 2000 UK tourists stranded in Bilbao Spain. The newly launched cruise vessel was send to Bilbao out of Southampton England on a “good will” voyage (itinerary April 21 to 23) and carried the tourists back home.